Gilroy is getting an instrumental push from a few dozen
neighbors to help raise funds for its upcoming Memorial Day
parade.
Gilroy is getting an instrumental push from a few dozen neighbors to help raise funds for its upcoming Memorial Day parade.
The Watsonville Community Band, which has played everywhere from the World’s Fair to the White House, will perform free of charge Wednesday during “Dinner & Concert Under the Stars” at Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park to help raise funds for Gilroy’s Memorial Day parade.
“It’s a great gesture of them to want to participate and help fundraise for the event,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said.
The band, which currently has 76 members ranging from ages 16 to 86, plays just about everything from contemporary music to traditional marches to selections from “Phantom of the Opera,” band business manager Don Spence said.
“We play just a whole variety of instrumental tunes,” he said. “We’re adaptable to most any type of music.”
In 1996, the band played a concert for President Bill Clinton on the White House lawn and marched in the Washington D.C. Fourth of July parade.
The bulk of the band hails from Watsonville, but members also come from Gilroy, San Jose, Santa Cruz and other local areas to play. The band has performed more than 1,100 times and garnered more than 300 first place awards in parade competitions during the past six decades.
Nonprofit group Gilroy Community Organization is hosting “Dinner & Concert Under the Stars,” which is set to run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will include a dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs.
Tickets are $20. Children between the ages of 4 and 10 will receive admission for $10. Children younger than 3 years old are admitted free.
Proceeds will support the Gilroy Memorial Day Parade, set for Monday, May 30.
“It’s a great opportunity and sit in the theaterlike setting and listen to this band play all kinds of different music,” Pinheiro said.
“We’re very excited about it. We hope the community comes out and participates in this fundraiser.”
